70-year-old Mawego TTI Elevated to National Polytechnic
Mawego Technical Training Institute (TTI) has been renamed Mawego National Polytechnic on January 1, 2024. Early last year, the Ministry of Education promoted the institution through the Directorate of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
Mawego National Polytechnic in Rachuonyo North sub-county, Homa Bay County, will now offer more courses as a result of the elevation. According to Mawego Polytechnic’s administration, its institution would be at the forefront of meeting the needs of communities in Homa Bay and beyond.
The management claims it is awaiting the TTI’s gazettement to confirm the elevation. Mawego is one of 12 institutions promoted to national polytechnics by President William Ruto by the 2013 TVET Act. According to the President, the elevation will strengthen and broaden higher education.
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The other institutions include Maasai Technical Training Institute, Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology, Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology, Coast Institute of Technology, Tseikuru Technical and Training College, and Sangalo Institute of Science and Technology. Bureti Technical Vocational College, Jeremiah Nyagah Technical Training Institute, and Baringo Technical Training Institute are also on the list.
According to Mawego TTI Deputy Principal Leah Otieno, the elevation will allow the university to collaborate with other universities to offer technical degrees. Mawego, as a national polytechnic, will also provide courses based on their curriculum. As the oldest higher education institution in Homa Bay County, the elevation was long overdue, she says.
TTI has provided technical courses that have helped some of its past students succeed in many sectors. Cyprian Awiti, the immediate past governor of Homa Bay, Mawego TTI’s Board of Directors Chairman Alex Kazongo, Prof Bernard Aduda of Egerton University, and Kenya Diaspora Alliance Chairman Shem Ochuodho are among those who have graduated from the institution.
Mr. Awiti’s home is close to the institution. Former students have created an association and use Whatsapp to discuss concerns impacting Mawego Polytechnic.
Some of their resolutions are handed up to Mawego Principal John Abuto, Ms. Otieno, and the Board of Directors. Mr Kazongo attended Mawego while it was still a national school.
“I can only describe it as one of the most successful institutions in Nyanza region. With the elevation, Mawego Polytechnic will continue producing people who will bring great changes to the Kenyan society,” he says.
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While in Mawego, Dr. Ochuodho received training in masonry, carpentry, metal work, and electrical work. He claims that previous national administrations ignored technical education as a means of producing jobs, ignoring such institutions and their graduates.
The Kenya Diaspora Alliance boss mentions that technical training was associated with academic failure. According to him, very few people believed that graduates of such colleges could excel in life. He notes that, at that time, being admitted to university for a degree course was considered everything.
Dr. Ochuodho goes on to say that many industrialized countries, including Southeast Asia’s economic tigers, Europe, and North America, support technical training.
Dr. Ochuodho states that developed countries prioritize sending their best minds for technical training rather than university degree programs. He urges Kenya’s two levels of government to place more emphasis on technical and vocational training.
According to him, these institutes require additional manpower and equipment to enhance their effectiveness. According to Mawego trainees interviewed by Higher Education, the former pupils are still their role models.
Emaculate Otieno, a Social Work and Community Development student, says she came to the college after hearing about the many notable people it has produced over the years. Emaculate hails from Oyugis, which is home to the Sikri Technical and Vocational Training Institute, but she chose to attend Mawego.
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She mentions that Mawego had always been her dream institution of higher learning even during her primary and secondary school years. She notes that it provides programs that align with the aspirations of many.
Emaculate Otieno says she has witnessed many former students grow socially, academically, and economically, with some even rising to become respected leaders in Kenya and abroad. TVET continues to be a driver of social and economic development in Kenya.
Mawego TTI’s expansion over the years has had an impact on the area’s economic and social status. Residents of Lida township are now using some of their land to build hostels for the expanding number of students.
With Mawego’s elevation, the number is anticipated to climb much higher.
The hostel at the institution houses less than 700 students. The rest must seek shelter elsewhere.
Ms Salome Bonyo is one of the Lida residents who has built hostels. She can house ten students for Sh5,500 every term (three months). Her next-door neighbor charges Sh7,500 for the same time period.
Ms. Bonyo observes that building rental houses has become more profitable than farming. She notes that many people with land have shifted their focus to real estate due to the impact of this training institute.
According to her, while crops may fail due to bad weather, the demand for housing remains consistent as students are always in need of places to stay. Barbershops, hairdressers, gyms, food kiosks, and medical clinics are among the other enterprises that have opened in Lida.
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Some entrepreneurs have developed entertainment venues aimed toward students. Mr Wilson Okongo has a cyber cafe outside Mawego Polytechnic.
Students and staff can obtain services such as financing applications from the Higher Education Loans Board and Kenya Revenue Authority personal identification numbers.
In addition, he sells videos to students. Mr. Okongo shares that some individuals visit his shop in the evening and during weekends to play video games. He emphasizes that without them, he would struggle to make ends meet.
Locals feel that the TTI’s elevation will help the area thrive. Land prices in Lida and adjacent areas have risen in recent years. Mr Ronald Juma, a Lida native, says he saw Mawego TTI transform his village into a township.
Mr. Juma mentions that some individuals couldn’t cope with the transformation and chose to sell their land to settle elsewhere. He notes that a plot measuring 100x50ft around the institution now goes for up to Sh700,000.
Reflecting on the changes over the past decade, he comments, “Some of the places that were covered with bushes 10 years ago and would be sold at less than Sh100,000 now have rental property. The cost of land keeps rising.”
However, relying on Mawego Polytechnic students as a business base has drawbacks. Many businesses close during student recess. Some entrepreneurs, on the other hand, continue to operate even when there are few customers to service.
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Brian Amollo, a barber, is one of them. Mr. Amollo serves at least 30 persons per day while students are present. It costs Sh50 to get a haircut.
When students go on vacation, the number of daily customers shrinks to five or less. Mawego began in 1952 as a trade school. The Outreach Brothers of the Netherlands founded it.
It provided instruction in artisan masonry, leather work, tailoring, carpentry, and other trades. Mawego also included a primary school.
Mawego was taken over by the government in 1967, and it became a national technical secondary school.
It developed to its current size over time, offering programs in architecture and construction, civil and mechanical engineering, food and beverage, information technology, agriculture, banking and finance, social work, business management, fashion and design, and many others.
There is also a driving school inside the institute. According to the deputy principal, Mawego TTI has 178 instructors and at least 84 non-teaching staff members. With the advancement to a polytechnic, the number is likely to expand.
“The employees attend to the more than 6,000 students,” she said. The institution’s success has enabled it to launch courses in medical and pharmaceutical technologies, which will begin in January.
It has also started aquaculture programs. Ms. Otieno reported that the TVET Directorate had ranked them as the best in academic performance, achieving a score of 71 percent.
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She highlighted that their institution produces highly sought-after engineering and electrical works trainees nationwide, and emphasized that the best plumbers in Kenya undergo training at their facility.
According to the deputy principal, Mawego Polytechnic’s administration wishes to implement a dual training approach.
Students will spend half of their time in class and the other half in the field applying what they have learned. Employers, she claims, prefer students who have received such training over those who have just graduated from university.
Employers, she claims, prefer students who have received such training over those who have just graduated from university.
Ms. Otieno emphasized that their institution is recognized for providing practical skills and solutions applicable in real-life situations. She stated that upon graduation, the students undergo thorough preparation for the job market.
Self-sponsorship is an option for Mawego Polytechnic students. He or she can also request government assistance through the new funding paradigm.
Organizations such as the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), banks, and non-governmental organizations pay fees for a number of students.
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According to the deputy director, some trainees have the support of their local legislators. “The National Youth Service pays the fee for others.” “The KCB Group also has a student assistance program called Tujiajiri,” she adds.
Students at Mawego TTI are typically exposed to practical lessons in laboratories and workshops. Trips to mechanised farms familiarize agriculture trainees with the skills they will need to alleviate food insecurity.
“There are plans to introduce more competitive and marketable courses to align with the changing times and trends,” she states. A large student and worker population strains available resources.
Water scarcity is the most difficult difficulty that Mawego Polytechnic faces.
The Homa Bay Water and Sanitation Company’s supply is insufficient for the polytechnic fraternity.
The institution has sunk a borehole to remedy this issue. The students, workers, and Board of Directors hope for ongoing national government support in addressing water and other issues. In February, Mawego TTI hosted its fifth graduation ceremony.
70-year-old Mawego TTI Elevated to National Polytechnic
